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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Lunch with René Redzepi

I was at a fantastic lunch yesterday - hosted by the Danish Landbrug & Fødevarer which is basically the organization for Danish meat. They had invited René Redzepi to Stockholm and I was very excited about going. See, René is the chef at Noma in Copenhagen, which is definitely one of the hottest restaurants at the moment.

We got four dishes, and René talked a lot about his thoughts on Scandinavian food and cooking - very interesting! I am however not at all good at understanding Danish - I got some of it, but certainly not all. A lot of people think that Scandinavian languages are all the same - that's not true at all. Similar, but certainly not the same. And there are a lot of differences, as well. In either case, René was very nice and friendly, and certainly a charming guy.

Now- the food! We first got two small dishes - the aebleskiver you see up top, which are essentially round little pancakes. They are filled with a ball of pork rilettes, and dusted with a vinegar powder.

Also these, crispy pork rinds (or crackling) dusted with lingonberry powder. It was served with a delicious smoked cheese dip.

The chefs huddle to plate the next dish...

Which was bone marrow with pickled vegetables - beetroot in rosehip pickling liquid, yellow beets in elderflower pickling liquid, shallots in honey pickling liquid and so on. And a sauce made from roasted ribs. Absolutely delicious. I never tried marrow before, and I'm not dying to have it again, but it was nice with the other elements.

And then we got those slow-roasted ribs. Oh, oh, oh my god. They have a mustard seed-hazelnut glaze. And came with a redcurrant yogurt for dipping. We were encouraged to eat with our hands. And we did. It was heavenly.

I can only imagine how great a dinner at Noma must be - I hope I can go there some time!